COMMENTS - 2013/12/08

WEEKLY BLOG COMMENTS

DATES: 2013/12/01 – 2013/12/08

ANALYST: Domingo Trassens

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Dear Friends:

I would like to share with you a series of comments posted by myself in the WSJ Journal Community and PBS through Twitter during the last seven days about the top news of the week.

The comments are organized in the following sections:

- United States

- Europe

- The Rest of World

- Education

- Economy, Business, Technology.

DAT

December 8, 2013

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UNITED STATES

WSJ Story: Hagel Arrives in Afghanistan

Defense Secretary Hagel Says He Won't Meet With Afghan President Karzai to Discuss Security Deal - By Julian E. Barnes And Nathan Hodge

My Comment: The news says that the U.S. Secretary is visiting Afghanistan but he will not meet Afghan President Karzai. Probably, Mr. Hagel was to this country only to make a little tourism. (2013/12/07)

WSJ Story: The War of the Wages

Obama moves left on the economy to change the subject from ObamaCare.

My Comment: The change of the subject is a tactic that President Obama uses frequently when he doesn’t have answers to the claims of people: Benghazi, Immigration, IRS, NSA, Syria, ObamaCare… The problem is that all these issues remain opened.

And I don’t believe the minimum wage to $10.00 will end with a victory for the President because the economy is not in the best moment to force small businesses to increase the minimum salary from $7.25 to $10.00. Perhaps, it would be more realistic for a jump to $8.25. (2013/12/05) 4 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Biden Condemns China Air Zone - By Yuka Hayashi

My Comment: According to the news, from Japan, Vice President Joe Biden condemned the China Air Zone and now he plans to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

I don’t believe the Chinese President will say “Hello, Mr. Biden” in a really friendly way. (2013/12/03)

My Story: The Next GOP Crackup?

Republican spenders want to break the annual budget caps.

My Comment: Republicans have to try to work together in one direction, avoiding initiatives that give them a bad public image. If they are divided, the White House will use this situation for its benefit. (2013/12/03) 1 Recommendation

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EUROPE

WSJ Story: Hollande Proposes Military Alliance to Combat African Violence

France Drawn Deeper Into Conflict Gripping Central African Republic - By Drew Hinshaw in Accra, Ghana, and Stacy Meichtry

My Comment: It looks like President Hollande wants to recover the French influence across its old colonies. (2013/12/07)

WSJ Story: Ukraine Government Survives No-Confidence Vote - By James Marson in Kiev and Naftali Bendavid in Brussels

My Comment: The voting in the Parliament shows that a big percentage of its members are not from the side of the protesters or they don’t want to identify with the leaders of the unrest. (2013/12/03) 2 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Ukraine's Pivot to Moscow Leaves West Out in the Cold - By James Marson And Alexander Kolyandr

My Comment: A new Ukrainian “civilian” revolution is saying to the pro-Russian government that Ukraine is Europe. (2013/12/02) 4 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Franco's Legacy Rattles Spain - By Matt Moffett and David Román

My Comment: It looks like in Spain; the fascists want to resuscitate dictator Francisco Franco.

When the countries don’t find solutions through the normal political institutions, extremist activists push the crowds to the streets. (2013/12/02) 1 Recommendation

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REST OF THE WORLD

PBS-NEWSHOUR ANALYSIS: Shields and Brooks on Mandela's influence, Obama's vow to address inequality

My Comment: Mark Shields speaking about Nelson Mandela said: “Nelson Mandela is that almost unique figure who is both loved and respected virtually around the globe. “

It looks like he wants to put the former South African president at the top of an altar.

Personally, I recognize Mandela has a hard fighter for his ideals, but he also was a very controversial leader associated with dictators like al-Gaddafi and Robert Mugabe. (2013/12/08) 1 Recommendation

WSJ Story: North Korea Frees U.S. Tourist

Merrill Newman Was Held for More Than a Month - By Jonathan Cheng

My Comment: The North Korean experience of Merrill Newman was a nightmare, but it was shorter than others. In the hands of Kim Jong Un you can wait the worse.

Make tourism in North Korea is a big “cage” with a lot of jailers is risky. (2013/12/08) 1 Recommendation

WSJ Story: Biden's Mission: Unite Japan, South Korea

U.S. Hopes Crisis Over China's Defense Zone Can Knit Ties Among Allies, but Longtime Enmity Proves Hard to Overcome - By Yuka Hayashi in Tokyo, Jeremy Page in Beijing and Jonathan Cheng in Seoul

My Comment: Japan has to apologize for the cruelty of the Imperial Army against its neighbors, before looking for friendship treatments with these countries. The United States cannot help if the Japanese don’t clean their past in the right way.

Willy Brandt – German Chancellor - apologized to Poland for the crimes of the Nazis in one of the best attitudes of the leaders of Post-War.
You will never close the wounds of past wars with arrogance and jumping over the corpses of your victims.
Germany is building good relationships with its old enemies, while Japan continues in the middle of the route… (2013/12/07) 2 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Mandela Leaves Divided Legacy in Africa

Former South African President's Ties With Despots – By Heidi Vogt

My Comment: The death of Nelson Mandela - liberation leader of his country - puts a dramatic end to a controversial life.

Mandela was a hard fighter of the ideals of democracy and race equality; however his death leaves a chapter of History opened.

In his moment of glory, the former South African president didn't make enough efforts across his country and the African continent to punish the corruption of governments, stop oppressive practices against millions of human beings and diminish the high levels of criminality.

In his bronze, Mandela will look like a giant, but in the heart of the Africans who till now suffer oppression and slavery, he will be only a shadow of a promise of better life. (2013/12/06) 2 Recommendations

WSJ Story: U.S., Allies Reach Out to Syria's Islamist Rebels

Talks Aim to Undercut al Qaeda While Acknowledging Battlefield Gains of Religious Fighters - By Stacy Meichtry in Paris, Ellen Knickmeyer in Riyadh and Adam Entous in Washington

My Comment: In the current circumstances, I don’t believe that it is easy to determine who is who among the rebels.

Any military assistance to the rebels is a double-edged sword. (2013/12/04) 2 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Argentina's Second-Largest City Rocked by Looting

Incidents Left at Least One Dead in Córdoba Amid Police Strike - By Ken Parks

My Comment: Looting is not new in Argentina. The Peronistas – followers of Juan Domingo Peron – through the insinuation of their leader learned to take possession of things and properties of big companies and small shops in the 1950s.

Since those times, always when there is social unrest, the masses attack supermarkets and food stores. (2013/12/04) 4 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Where Is North Korea's No. 2?

Kim Jong Un's Uncle Hasn't Been Seen in Weeks - By Alastair Gale

My Comment: Normally, the paranoid leaders remove from their circle everybody who can surpass them or with better merits, experience or leadership conditions. Also they don’t want to work with people who know their weaknesses.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un looks like a paranoid with poor leadership capacities. For this reason, it is possible that he has removed Jang Song Thaek, his No. 2. (2013/12/03) 2 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Iran Deal Opens Door for Businesses

European, U.S. Firms Stand to Benefit From Sanction-Relief Measures - By Benoît Faucon

Comment: Now the business people will run to Tehran to sell all they can, before the political conditions change again… (2013/12/02)

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EDUCATION

WSJ Story: U.S. High-School Students Slip in Global Rankings - By Stephanie Banchero

My Comment: Education is more than tests and statistics.

The teachers have to focus their classroom work through a strong and responsible learning process.

The good results in the tests come as a consequence of a solid and continuous educational effort. (2013/12/03) 2 Recommendations

WSJ Story: The Human Wealth of Nations

The latest Program for International Student Assessment global education scores are a warning to both parties

My Comment: The students of advanced countries like the United States, Germany, France and United Kingdom didn’t achieved good scores in the test of the Program for International Student Assessment (Pisa).

The key issue of the education is the “learning process” that includes 3 important steps: motivation, learning and application.

The problem is that a lot of educators and schools don’t know how to “walk” hand to hand with their students through these 3 steps.

The educators have to motivate their students with clear and simple concepts. After that, they have to give them all the elements to learn the new knowledge. Next, they have to help them to integrate this new knowledge with previous subjects through application of the new knowledge with the others all together.

Sometimes, each step requires the division of one step in a series of smaller steps.

Never should the class have to jump to a new knowledge if there are gaps in the previous subjects.

The real education is not the learning of some new “tricks” to run fast through sheets of tests, or the use of memorization techniques of some formulas without knowing the meaning of the components of these formulas.

In addition, the teacher has to work with all the students of his/her classroom, no only with the brilliant brains excluding the others with learning problems.

In summary, education is about good and responsible teachers who know how to drive their students through the right learning process. (2013/12/04) 

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ECONOMY, BUSINESS, TECHNOLOGY

WSJ - Why Bezos's Drone Is More Than a Joke

Amazon Chief's Remarks Boosted Firm, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles - By Farhad Manjoo

My Comment: The drones (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) that Amazon is developing to deliver packages look like a fantasy of a science-fiction writer, however frequently the innovation of the technology comes from projects that look crazy and non-realistic.

Jeff Bezos is an entrepreneur who’s made a series of important contributions to retail business and the technology industry. Probably, in three or four years, everybody will applaud his new initiative and others will “clone” his drones.

By the way, during the last days, across the European media, respectable newspapers have posted interesting headline stories about Amazon’s drone. (2013/12/08)

WSJ Story: Squeezed by U.S., Lockheed CEO Aims Abroad

Defense Contractor Looks to the Middle East for Overseas Expansion Push - By Doug Cameron

My Comment: It is very difficult to make good businesses abroad for a military technology provider due to the U.S. export restrictions. (2013/12/07)

WSJ Story: U.S. Employers Add 203,000 Jobs; Unemployment Rate Falls to Five-Year Low - By Jeffrey Sparshott And Neil Shah

My Comment: The U.S. Labor Department posted reasonable good numbers in its November report, but we have to be cautious.

After the Holidays Seasons, we have to observe the trends of the business activities of the retail and food sectors. November and December are two special months of the year. (2013/12/06) 3 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Apple's Star Chamber

An abusive judge and her prosecutor friend besiege the tech maker.

My Comment: The story says that Judge Denise Cote is abusive. I think Ms. Cote is using her privileges of judge in the wrong way. Her attitude doesn’t look ethical.

Probably, Ms. Cote and her friend don’t know that innovative products in the technology arena change frequently the market conditions. After Apple introduced iPad, a series of other makers launched also digital tablets based on Android and Windows 8.

It is not against the rules of the technology business that the current generation of digital tablets includes the “e-reader” function in the new devices. Always new hardware and/or software include previous devices and/or programs integrating different functions and technical features in a new scale of products or solutions.

In summary, this case shows that Judge Denise Cote is using “bad practices” to punish Apple Computer or is completely ignorant about the evolution of technology. (2013/12/06) 4 Recommendations

WSJ Story: Daimler, Lagardère to Stand Trial in EADS Case

Trial Relates to Alleged Insider Trading in 2006 - By Inti Landauro

My Comment: “Corruption” also walks through the luxurious offices of the “respectable” big companies. (2013/12/02)  

WSJ Story: As Deadline Expires, Problems Persist With Health Site

Though Upgrades Improve Performance, System Could Take Weeks To Fix - By Louise Radnofsky and Spencer E. Ante

My Comment: When a technological system doesn’t work properly, a “political deadline” cannot fix the problems. The technical people have to fix the problems. (2013/12/01)

WSJ Story: Retail Sales on Thanksgiving, Black Friday Rose 2.3%, Report Finds

Increase in Foot Traffic Contributes to $12.3 Billion in Sales - By Drew FitzGerald

My Comment: The current report of the retail sales on Thanksgiving and Black Friday with a 2.3% growth compared with the previous year doesn’t show a lot of euphoria. Maybe some families are shocked by the increase of the cost of their healthcare insurances for next year. (2013/12/01)

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SOURCES:

1) External Sources: Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and PBS NewsHour

2) Own Sources: My own research for previous publishing projects: TTT of Comlab Corp, Spanish English Club online.

Website: http://world-rethink.blogspot.de/

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